"It's you and me. Together," he says. "Us against the world."
*****
All my life, I've never trusted men. The image of them planted in my head is the figure of my abusive stepfather who has made my mother and I live in hell.
But then, an encounter w...
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I'm walking down the pavement, my arm linked with Lais. She giggles beside me, and I turn to look at her, a soft smile on my lips as I see her happy face.
"Finally. It's been years since I was here." She sighs before inhaling a deep breath.
The morning sun casts its ray on her beautiful face, making her smile even brighter, warmth sipping through my heart.
Around us is the city where it all began. My hometown.
New York.
We're strolling on the upper east side of Manhattan. Right. We just had breakfast in my parents' house. They were really happy to see her, and we're going to have dinner again with them tonight.
She halts, making me stop as well. People pass, watching us with a dreamy look, like we're some kind of celebrity couple.
She gives me a meaningful smile, making me raise my eyebrows.
"That happy?" I smile, now taking her hands in mine.
She nods. A tear rolls down from the corner of her eye, and my breath catches in my throat.
"Yeah. I can finally meet my Mom," she whispers.
She has told me before that she wants to visit her mother's graveyard, and she can finally do it now that she's back in New York.
Yet, I frown, staring at her. It better be tears of joy, right?
But why does she look so sad?
"Lais?" I ask, wiping the tear off her cheek. I always feel like an idiot every time I see her crying.
Her sky blue eyes stare into mine, more tears pooling in them, and I swallow a lump in my throat. God, why does it hurt so much to see her sad?
"She meant, she could finally die and meet her mother," a male voice hisses in my ear, shocking me to the core.
His voice is deep, cold and laced with venom. A voice that I've never heard before. A voice of a stranger.
My heart thumps so wildly that I can even feel it explode out of my chest. What kind of sick thought was that?
What kind of nonsense is this?
Lais' cries turn into sobs. She looks down, staring at her feet.
I snap my head around to find the unknown person, only to notice that more strange things are happening.
Suddenly, it isn't a bright morning anymore.
Dark clouds cover the sky, and rain starts to pour down hard. The city turns dark in an instant.
